Commitment – John 6: 60-69, Matt 19:27

Dec 03, 2023

Summary of Sermon

One of the hardest things to find is people who are committed, all in, so to speak. All around us, we see marriages that are falling apart because one or both parties did not take their commitment seriously. They were only in it as long as it felt good, or they benefitted.

In the passage in John 6, we see the feeding of the 5000 (men) and Jesus’ walking on water and other miracles. Then Jesus begins to teach about His death. He uses the analogy of how it brings temporary life and one has to use it over and over again, just like the Israelites in the wilderness ate Manna day after day, but they still died physically. But Jesus’ body which would be broken for our sin, would give life to all who ‘believe’. Put their trust in His broken body and shed blood for the remission and removal of our sins.

After this very difficult teaching, most of the people following Jesus left Him, John 6:66. But the 12 were still there and Jesus asked them if they too would leave and Peter replied, that they had nowhere else to go, they were convinced that Jesus alone had the words of life. IN Matt 19:27, Peter makes the statement that they, the 12, had left all to follow Him. Peter had left a successful fishing business, Matthew a lucrative position as a tax collector and they had followed Jesus.

Too many Christians are in the Lord’s churches for what they can get out of them. They stay at a church long enough to use its resources but never contribute. They are never invested because they are not committed. God is looking for 100% in people, the kind of people that can endure hardships, and loss and still serve the Lord faithfully. Oh that you and I were these kinds of people.